Immuno-oncology

Merck Gets Closer To Extending Keytruda Franchise With Subcutaneous Version

 

Merck expects Keytruda to come under Medicare price controls in 2028, but an analyst said the subcutaneous version could shield revenues for the franchise.

Rybrevant/Lazcluze Survival Win Could Overcome Tagrisso’s Convenience Advantage

 

J&J is confident that its bispecific antibody/kinase inhibitor combo’s overall survival win over AstraZeneca’s single-agent pill will shift the standard of care.

BioNTech Seeks New Partners To Boost PD-L1xVEGF Competitor

 

Increasingly focused on maximizing and accelerating the progress of its PD-L1 x VEGF inhibitor BNT357, the company expects new partnerships to be announced this year.

Sun Sets Up For PD-L1 Play With Checkpoint Acquisition

 

Sun is acquiring Checkpoint Therapeutics, opening up opportunities to build out its strategy in the onco-derm segment with the US firm’s FDA-approved anti-PD-L1 mAb.


Gastric Cancer Is Another Perioperative Win For AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi

 

The MATTERHORN study could set Imfinzi up for another new perioperative use, even though the gastric cancer trial has yet to demonstrate an overall survival benefit.

BioNTech Can Rival Summit In VEGF x PD-(L)1 Bispecifics

 

Summit and Akeso have established a big lead in lung cancer with ivonescimab, but BioNTech aims to make its rival, BNT327, the leader in other tumor types.

BeiGene Scores Label Expansion For Tevimbra In Frontline Esophageal Cancer

 

The company sees a potential billion-dollar market opportunity in its approved indications and is launching the drug in what an exec called “a very targeted fashion” at a recent conference.

Pfizer And Summit Move Fast To Combine Ivonescimab With ADCs

 

The companies will work together to combine Summit’s PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody ivonescimab, with Pfizer’s antibody drug conjugates, but have not signed any licensing deals as yet.


Scrip Asks... What Does 2025 Hold For Biopharma? Part 6: Therapeutic Area Advances

 

Over 140 biopharma leaders share their views on developments to watch for in key therapeutic areas this year. Advances in multiple scientific fields are opening up new avenues for treatment.

Novartis Development Head On The India Hub, AI And Not Doing ‘Me Too’ Stuff In Obesity

 

Novartis president, development and chief medical officer talks about the pivotal role of the development India hub in progressing breakthrough drugs, how AI is delivering gains in the trials arena, driving focus in the R&D engine and the Swiss group’s approach in the obesity space.

Bristol Gives Up On Adjuvant Melanoma For Opdualag With Failed Trial

 
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The checkpoint inhibitor combo missed a recurrence-free survival endpoint in Phase III in post-surgical melanoma. The LAG-3 inhibitor-containing product continues development in lung cancer, however.

10 Clinical Trials To Look Out For In 2025

 

Scrip surveys some of the more interesting Phase III clinical trial readouts expected this year.


Rakuten Takes Photoimmunotherapy Into Global Phase III Program For Head/Neck Cancer

 
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Oncology-focused venture eyes potential US approval for first-line use as it kicks off expanded development of light-activated therapy.

GSK And Oxford To Collaborate On Neoantigen Vaccines To Prevent Cancer

 

The potentially groundbreaking approach would use immunotherapy or targeted therapies against pre-cancerous cells to prevent cancer from developing at all.

Can ALX Break The CD47 Curse?

 

The company presented promising Phase II data at the ASCO-GI conference for evorpacept, a drug whose target has been problematic for other drug makers.

Leo Delves Into Rare Cancer Space With Junshi Deal

 
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The Danish drugmaker, best known for dermatology, has secured the European rights to Shanghai Junshi Biosciences’ cancer therapy toripalimab, which was the first Chinese PD-1/L1 checkpoint inhibitor to be approved in the US.


US Dato-DXd Approval Relief For AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo

 

The FDA green light for Datroway in breast cancer marks the first for a TROP2-directed antibody-drug conjugate and is a relief for partners AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo after multiple filing mis-steps in its lung cancer indication.

Pfizer Aims To Have First PD-1 Inhibitor Approved In Early NMIBC Setting

 

The drug maker announced positive topline Phase III results for its subcutaneous PD-1 inhibitor sasanlimab in first-line, BCG-naïve non-muscle invasive bladder cancer combined with BCG.

Vir Scores In Oncology Pivot With Strong Early T-Cell Engager Results

 

Five months after taking over the dual-masked T-cell engagers from Sanofi amid a restructuring, the company posted promising initial Phase I data from its PSMA- and HER2-targeting IO candidates.

Galapagos Looks To Start Afresh With Spin-Out Company And New Gilead Deal

 

Galapagos and Gilead are calling time on their ill-fated licensing deal and the Belgian biotech is looking to unlock value by creating a business development-focused spin-out armed with a €2.45bn cash pile. Major job cuts are also on the cards.